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Zelos, the Aegis of Ionia

Y'know, I've always found Zelos to be a rather interesting character. He's only been name-dropped, but...The question that arises is; If his father was a master swordsman, *why* did Zelos leave his ancestral weapon behind when he left home? And to become a Sergeant, of all things- Hardly a prestigious post. Not to mention missing the *entire* invasion...

My tentative idea for Zelos is as a counterpart to Irelia, as a Fighter; While his sister has to play keep-away, charging in only when the enemy is weakened, he *likes* being up and close and personal.

For his weapon: I'd suggest a shield- Not a Captain America kind of throwing shield, but something you use to smite the hell out of the enemy. I'm reminded of the story of Perseus, here, who fixed Medusa's head to the front of his shield, and used it as a lethal weapon.

Backstory:

There has to be a good reason why Zelos doesn't use a sword. Either he didn't get on well with his dad, which seems petty- Or he literally *couldn't* learn his father's fighting style. He just...didn't have the gift. While Master Lito was ultimately disappointed with his son, he forged the first and only shield he made in his entire career- A baroque, razor-edged weapon as lethal as it was defensive.

Desperate to prove himself, he refused the offer of a political officer's post- He wanted to work his way up, and was soon promoted to Sergeant by merit. When invasion threatened, he was the first to volunteer for the apparent 'suicide mission'. Somehow, he made it- But by the time he got back at the head of a Demacian fleet, his city was already in flames. In shame, when the invasion was thrown back, he was at the forefront of the Ionian counterattack- Even now, he can't quite return to the city he sees himself as having failed.

His sister uses her father's sword as a shield, for the people of Ionian. Zelos uses his father's shield as a sword.

Rather less ornate than Irelia's outfit. He's a fighting man first and foremost, and likely wears stiff leather armor/chainmail. Possibly with a red surplice draped over it, as a visual nod to his heritage. His shield is a large device that rests on his right arm, with spikes and a concealed blade- In his idle animation, he absently snikts the retractable spike in and out.

Abilities:

Innate:

In construction.

Active:

1.) Overrun: Zelos lunges forward in a quick dash. Anyone who's played Marvel v Capcom, and seen Captain America's shield dash should be familiar with this. This would be a 'skill-shot' projectile- He dashes in the direction it's fired, similar to the targeting of Arcane Shot or Brand's Q attack. On-hit effects apply; While the attack itself isn't that powerful, he ignores object collision until he reaches the target. Either he does the same damage, or less damage, to people in his way?

2.) Neith Style:

Passive: Similar to Thornmail, a certain percentage of damage inflicted on Zelos is returned to the opponent.

Active: Zelos reverses the polarity, in a point-blank AOE nuke. Everyone around him is momentarily slowed/stunned, in a similar way as to Jax's E move. This is the second part of Zelos's 'combo'- Dash to the enemy with Overrun, Reverse Polarity to stun them, and hit them with his W move for massive damage.

3.) Shieldbreaker:

A short-ranged cone attack, with a narrow arc. Zelos winds up, and deploys his shield- Impaling enemy in range with the concealed blade. This is his big-damage blow, the one you use to finish off the enemy. Of course, with fairly lousy range and a brief windup, it's *very* hard to connect; But useful in clearing the minions directly in front of him, if he's still recharging Overrun.

Ultimate:

4.) Ein Sophr Aun:

Zelos's shield opens up, and he begins channeling- When 'deployed', his shield vaguely resembles a fanged maw around a black hole. This slows- Alternatively, it taunts in the AOE, the better to represents the gravity. Then he unleashes a massive blast that knockbacks everyone, sort of like Gragus's thrown cask.

The idea is that Ein Sophr Aun is an 'all or nothing' move- It takes the heat off fragile casters, and blasts away the melee fighters who are closing in. However, if this move doesn't kill the enemy, you've effectively moved him out of reach, so his Ulti is it's own 'escape clause', so to speak.

If cancelled prematurely, Ein Sophr Aun does significantly less damage, but you still get the knockback explosion. If he dies, under the influence, you get nothing.

Alternatively, you Ulti after W, if you're sure you can kill them in this hit. He's meant to be more of a Fighter than a Tank; Another escape clause for Ein Sophr Aun is simply to kill him. Also, he can't dash consecutively; He has to stay and take the punishment for a while, before he can escape with Overrun. Burst damage opponents, or mid-range people like Twisted Fate are particularly good at taking Zelos down before he can run away.

Similarly, his *short* range- Almost as bad as Singed's Fling- is another flaw. He really has to be right on top of his opponents to hurt them. A skilled enemy can backpedal, if you survive his first Overrun dash.

However, I really don't have an idea what would be appropriate for his Passive. Tentatively, an Ability Power-to-bonus-HP one might be useful (Logically, his shield should protect him), but it might run the risk of making him *too* Tanky. Possibly something like having his Shield deflect an occasional spell?

Admittedly, it's going to need a *lot* of tinkering. But I kind of like the idea of a shield fighter, impractical as the idea seems.